An Open Letter To Saxby Chambliss

Senator Chambliss,

I am disappointed in you.

As one of your staunchest supporters I have to say that I am shocked at your decision to support the "Secure Borders, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Reform Act of 2007".

I have spent the better part of this weekend reviewing the text of this legislation. You should be ashamed of yourself for supporting it.

If you want a "meaningful, workable program", like you say you do, then you should be the first person to notice this bill will not create that program.

In your press release from Friday, May 17th, you say,

"The bipartisan immigration deal announced today is a step in the right direction toward reaching a final, comprehensive immigration bill. However, certain criteria must be met in order for this legislation to receive my final support. My top priority in this debate is border security, because if we do not secure the border then we will fail to address a serious national security issue and we will fail to prevent future illegal immigration. The bill must not include a new pathway to citizenship for people who have come here illegally; rather, those who have come here illegally must go home and get in the back of the line if they want to apply for a green card."

How can you say this bill is "a step in the right direction", when you also say that the bill must not include a new pathway to citizenship for people who have come here illegally? This bill does include such a pathway, therefore your statement is contradictory.

I have supported you for several years and have never found you to be contradictory. You have always been level-headed and dead on when supporting conservative issues. What happened? Has big government finally gotten to you?

During a speech this week, you claimed that we need a "new, truly temporary worker program" or else we will find ourselves dependent on foreign imports for food products. When was the last time you went to a grocery store, sir?

This past weekend, I found myself in the produce sections of some local grocery stores. Did you know you cannot buy plums that do not come from Chile? I found tomatoes, bananas, cantelope, and several other varieties of fruits and vegetables, none of which were grown in the United States. The biggest shock was being forced to purchase "California" style avocados that were grown in Mexico.

If we need these "temporary workers" so badly, exactly where are all the fruits and vegetables they currently help produce? I have heard estimates that there are up to 20 million illegal immigrants in the United States. If they are so vital to our economy where is all the American produce? It's not in North Georgia, that's for sure.

In the fall of 2006, the Crider plant in Stillmore, Georgia was raided. As many as 700 employees were using fraudulent ID's and many of the illegal immigrants in the town packed up and moved on. Many people in the area, including homeless men, were hired to do the jobs vacated by deported or fleeing illegal immigrants. The people filling those positions were Americans. You remember them don't you? The citizens you were elected to serve? And to top it all off, guess what? I can still buy American chicken at the grocery store. So I ask again, if illegal immigrants (aka "temporary workers" to those of you in the Senate) are so vital to our economy, where is the food they help produce?

I hope you understand the point I am trying to make. I am urging you to rethink your position on this bill, for your sake, and for ours. I agree that we need immigration reform, but I don't think you should be selling out the American people to get it.